Bethesda Elementary Physical Education

Jill Moore, teacher
Mrs. Moore's Web Page
Wes May, teacher
Mr. May's Web Page

        The Bethesda Elementary Physical Education Department provides quality physical education by guiding each child in the process of becoming physically active for a lifetime. In doing so, students are exposed to a variety of activities categorized by movement concepts, skill themes, and physical fitness.

            The physical education staff promotes and practices developmentally and instructionally appropriate education. This philosophy recognizes individual characteristics such as developmental status, previous experience in movement, disabilities, fitness and skill level, age, and body size. Additionally, instruction and assessment styles are evidence-based and “incorporate best known practices into a program that maximizes opportunities for learning and success for all children (COPEC, 1992, p.3)” In short; the physical education program at Bethesda meets many of the characteristics established by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a quality physical education program. These characteristics include ensuring moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for the majority of each lesson, abundant opportunities for practice, high rates of success, a positive environment, specialized instructors, adequate equipment, adequate facilities, and student enjoyment. These characteristics are further exemplified by the fact that each unit and/or special event meets or exceeds national, state, and county standards and performance outcomes for K-5^th grade.

            In a culture where only 19 percent of all high school students report being physically active for 20 minutes of more in daily physical education classes (Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health, 1996) and obesity is at epidemic proportions, teaching and encouraging children to be physically active when they are young is crucial. As stated in the textbook Children Moving (2004), “the challenge of physical educators is not so much to instill a love of movement as it is to keep alive and channel this inborn urge to move so that as individuals enter their adult years they will continue to enjoy being physically active and will derive all of the benefits – physical, emotional, and social – that come to those who have been physically active throughout their lifetimes.” This is the aspiration of Bethesda Elementary Physical Education.

The following is a list of just a few of the activities the students at Bethesda will experience in P.E. this year:

Movement Concepts:

• Space Awareness: location, directions, levels, pathways, extensions
• Relationships: of body parts, with objects or people
• Effort: time, force, flow

Skill Themes:

• Manipulative: throwing/catching, dribbling, volleying, kicking/punting, striking with rackets, striking with long-handled implements
• Non-manipulative: turning, twisting, rolling, balancing, transferring weight, jumping and landing, stretching, curling
• Loco motor: walking, running, hopping, skipping, galloping, chasing, fleeing, dodging
• Rhythms, Gymnastics, and Dance

Fitness & Wellness:

• Understanding and identifying activities which improve cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility
• Fall and spring fitness testing for three of the four content areas (cardiorespiratory, muscular fitness, and flexibility)
• Jumping rope as a lifetime activity
• Lessons which ensure that students are engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at least 50 percent of the time
• Station activities specifically created for students to rotate through different exercises
• Nutrition Concepts: food labels, age-appropriate nutrient/caloric needs, basic foods and food groups, healthy meals and snacks, food guide pyramid
• Body Structure and Systems: basic skeletal and muscular anatomy and physiology/exercise physiology, obtaining both resting and exercise heart rate
• Understanding the importance of physical activity and lifetime fitness

 Special Events and/or Activities

• Presidential Physical Fitness Testing
• County-wide research project examining student Body Mass Index (BMI) conducted by Williamson County Health Department
• ‘Healthy Me!’ project in conjunction with the Williamson County Health Department: an eight-week program for 5^th graders on the worth of physical activity a healthy balanced diet
• Three-week opportunity provided by Skatetime® to not only learn how to skate but to encourage students to adopt skating as an excellent source of lifetime physical fitness
• Student/Faculty Walking Club with pedometers furnished by the WCS Benefits Department
• BES Fun Run
• Kids Country Music Marathon (Spring 2007)

Bethesda Elementary Physical Education Specialists

    Wesley May brings many years of elementary, middle, high school, and collegiate teaching experience, HFI Certification from the American College of Sports Medicine, a B.S. degrees in K-12 physical education/lifetime wellness, one M.S. degree in progress, and one in exercise science/health promotion respectively.

    Mr. May also practices what he teaches. He is and has always been consistently involved in physical activity and/or planned exercise ranging from high school and collegiate team and individual sports to recreational sports and competitive running.

    Visit the classroom at any time and you’ll see that Wes loves what he does and is genuinely grateful to the students, the BES faculty and staff, and the community at large for their support of this program. 

“Physical Education isn’t a class… It’s a LIFESTYLE!”